Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

'I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. ” I highly recommend reading it. I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. Danielle goes through some commentary from Bill Gurley, Fred Wilson and Marc Andreessen about burn rate and then goes on to discuss her own burn rate and others publicly weigh in.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

'“ By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist.”. Book of Five Rings. A startup is not just about the idea, it’s about testing and then implementing the idea. A founding team without these skills is likely dead on arrival. —-. I was driving home from the BIO conference in San Diego last month and had lots of time for a phone call with Dave, an ex student and now a founder who wanted to update me on his Customer Discovery progress.

Cofounder 336

Cofounder Founder Technical Cofounder Coder 336

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

'This is a guest post from Stephano Kim , former co-founder of Web 1.0 success story Blackboard and veteran entrepreneur who’s held several COO and president roles at various startups. Many startup CEOs hire COOs or launch companies with a co-founder carrying the title. But what do COOs actually do for startups? When should founders hire one? Based on what criteria?

Hiring 336

Hiring Cofounder Startup Technical Cofounder 336

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

'Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Others will work hard on a business plan, and then mail it indiscriminately to every potential investor they can find on the Internet. Both of these approaches are a waste of your time and theirs.

Technical Review 299

Technical Review Entrepreneur Business Plan Angel Investor 299

Speaker: Nick Noreña, Innovation Coach and Advisor, Kromatic

Every startup and innovation project exists within an ecosystem that either helps or hurts that project. As innovation managers, we need to keep a pulse of that ecosystem and make sure we're helping those innovation projects we're managing every step of the way. In this webinar, Nick Noreña will walk through an Innovation Ecosystem Model that he and his team at Kromatic have developed to help investors, heads of product, teachers, and executives understand how they can best support innovation in

Startup

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

'by Tim Handorf, Co-Founder and President of G2 Crowd. When launching a new business, every second and every penny count towards the bottom line. Wasted time and money can mean the difference between a business becoming successful and profitable, and one that fails. According to the 2013 OfficeMax Small Business Efficiency Index , small business owners lose four billion hours each year managing time-consuming tasks.

Software Review 209

Software Review Small Business Software Technical Review 209

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

'Angel investors come from a variety of ages, backgrounds, and professions. I’m not your average angel. I’m a mom, a full-time sales manager, and recruiter. I’m not active in an angel group. I don’t have an MBA and I don’t live in Silicon Valley. I live in a small town surrounded by farms and I made my first angel investment at 29 because my dad said it was a good idea.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

'How do you figure out what’s the right mix of skills for the co-founders of your startup? Surprisingly if you’ve filled out the business model canvas you already know who you need. ——-. I was having breakfast with Radhika, an ex-grad student of mine who wanted to share her Customer Discovery progress for her consumer hardware startup.

Cofounder 335

Cofounder Founder Intellectual Property Business Model 335

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

'With plenty of resources available for entrepreneurs about how to craft an effective pitch deck for raising seed-stage capital from VCs, often what’s left out are some of the tactical components of an initial meeting. The following is a list of mistakes that, despite seeming obvious or perhaps mundane, are still frequently committed by founders and CEOs.

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Entrepreneur Due Diligence Seed Stage 308

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

'The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. The answer you give can make or break your ability to get an investment, so you need to have the right answer ready before anyone asks. Here are three important reasons for the question: Good investment paybacks normally require an exit event.

Exit Strategy 289

Exit Strategy Entrepreneur IPO Startup 289

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

'by TX Zhuo , managing partner at Karlin Ventures. For most startups, one of the most exciting and frustrating phases is deciding how to price their offering for their first paying customer. Pricing is especially tricky for enterprise startups because there’s very little data available, and new entrepreneurs often price their product or service way below its value.

Metrics 219

Metrics Churn Rate Startup Acquisition 219

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 6, 2014

'Dries Buytaert created Drupal, an open source content management platform, in his dorm room. He is also the co-founder and CTO at Acquia, a company providing enterprise software for websites and commerce. Society is undergoing tremendous change right now — those of us who enjoy services like Uber and Kickstarter are experiencing it firsthand. The sharing and collaboration practices of the internet are extending to transportation (Uber), hotels (Airbnb), financing (Kickstarter, LendingClub), mus

Cost 167

Cost Cofounder Open Source Software Developers 167

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

'I wrote a version of this post four years ago but given the hectic nature of today’s tech markets I thought it was worth revisiting and updating. Canceling meetings is a part of modern day life. I seem to get so over programmed that if I ever want to have a “break-out” unplanned trip somewhere I seem to have to reschedule meetings.

Las Vegas 369

Las Vegas Warrant Technical Review Cofounder 369

Occam's Razor

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

'Nothing I can tell you about the importance of having an incredible mobile strategy will surprise you. Mobile devices (phones, tablets, wearables) are transforming how we behave, how we buy, how we consume content, and dare I say how we become happy or we become sad. You after all have all of the aforementioned devices, and it is likely that at some level you are looking at traffic to your company's digital existence.

Analytics 143

Analytics Metrics Mobile DC 143

Genuine VC

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

'When Chad Pytel introduced me to Bryan Helmkamp , CEO/Co-founder of Code Climate , I knew that I had to pay attention. Chad is the CEO of thoughtbot, a consulting firm that makes web + mobile apps for early-stage startups. The two companies had been working together for a while, especially as both are deeply embedded within the Ruby on Rails developer community, with a strong following for their respective offerings.

Software Review 191

Software Review Chad Ruby PHP 191

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

'In my experience, consummate entrepreneurs tend come up with more startup ideas than they can ever implement, and some of the ideas may not even make business sense. But how does any entrepreneur know which ideas to implement, and which ones are best left behind? After all, most great breakthroughs, like a computer in every home, seemed like a crazy idea before Steve Jobs and Bill Gates made it happen.

Technical Review 267

Technical Review Due Diligence Entrepreneur Intellectual Property 267

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

'Apple’s newly announced Apple Watch may be the product that will finally skyrocket the smartwatch category into massive popularity, but the real honor of being the first to really bring the idea of a wristwatch that could do so much more – since Casio in the 80s – should rightfully belong to Pebble. The smartwatch startup first burst unto the scene on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter in 2012 raising over US$10 million from almost 70,000 backers in a very short time.

Technical Review 202

Technical Review Singapore Technology Video 202

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

'Sometimes your business needs money fast. The question is, how do you get it when the traditional methods don’t work for you? Let’s be honest, when it comes to funding, it’s never as straightforward as business advisors, lenders, backers, and investors might have you think. And, if you’re a small business, it’s unlikely you can afford to pay someone to do all the legal research and nit-picky stuff that the big boys can.

Cofounder 137

Cofounder Green Small Business Administration Business Plan 137

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

'Venture Capital is a tricky industry. If you’re funding the same stuff as everybody else and if you started your activities when the clues were obvious you’re much less likely to drive enormous returns. When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea. Far from it. Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone be

Technical Review 362

Technical Review America United States Partner 362

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

'I wrote the post below for Crowdcube , one of the UK’s leading equity crowdfuding sites. It went up on their blog yesterday. _. Two developments have changed the face of startup investing in the UK in recent years. The first development is increased capital efficiency. Entrepreneurs can now achieve an awful lot with very little money. We see this all the time at Forward Partners where we invest right from the idea stage and most of the companies get a first version of their product live

Early Stage 119

Early Stage Development Team Review Technical Review Software Review 119

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

'A few weeks ago, I was talking with a founder that I backed and he was telling me how excited he was about his company. He said the path was so clear that he could literally see it--and that''s the way he''s always been since I met him. He has a quiet confidence and he''s excited to talk about his company--and he could go on and on if you let him. It''s a stark contrast to people who beg for "just five minutes" of my time.

Venture Capital 168

Venture Capital Technical Review Networking Technology 168

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

'Even though the color of their money is always green, all startup investors are not the same. Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 257

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

'To begin with, it is important to understand some basic facts about the world of entrepreneurial finance: There are many more entrepreneurs than there are investors, with the result that only one company out of every 400 that seeks venture funding actually receives it. As such, the competition from an entrepreneur’s standpoint is very, very tough.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

'Good bookkeeping is essential to keep your business thriving—not just surviving. Badly tracked finances can cause your business a world of problems—from poor cash flow to improper tax filings and beyond. These kinds of problems can put a young business at serious risk. Good bookkeeping habits, on the other hand, can help a business thrive—and not just survive.

Entrepreneur 167

Entrepreneur Dallas Software Review Software 167

Version One Ventures

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

'Today marks my first full year in VC at Version One. Over this time, I have grown so much and am happy to report that being an investor is still very much aligned with my core values. As I reflect on the past year, I want to share what I have discovered about these 3 core values: learning, compassion, and freedom. Continuous learning. I believe that the more we know, the better our decisions are.

Venture Capital 162

Venture Capital Portfolio Vertical Technical Review 162

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

'Ariel Rosenthal is a co-founder at Xprt, a new startup looking to provide instant technical support and shopping advice from reliable and vetted experts. Working on startups for the last 10 years, I had some successes and some failures. Six months ago, I pulled the curtains on a startup I had dedicated years my life to, but today I am working on a new venture.

Technical Support 160

Technical Support Cofounder Startup Web 160

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 26, 2014

'I spent the day yesterday at the Disney Accelerator meeting with each of the teams and then had dinner with the CEOs and a lead mentor for each company. While I’m proud of all the Techstars programs, some of what I heard yesterday, especially around mentor engagement in the Disney program was remarkable. Our premise when we started doing branded accelerators with large companies was that we’d get deep mentor involvement from execs at the company we are partnering with.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Boston Internet Venture Capital 150

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

'Cutting out noise and creating a PPC strategy that drives business: It’s the goal of SEM professionals everywhere. So let’s talk about how to do that for real, shall we. By combining Ad Group theming and Modified Broad keywords, you can create targeting that rewards you with qualified traffic right away, and a structure that rewards you again and again by delivering even stronger target keyword sets.

PPC 114

PPC Matching Technical Review Search 114

crowdSPRING Blog

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

'Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account , I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

Social Media 94

Social Media Small Business Design Media 94

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

'How to find venture funding? I have to start with a major negative: if you have to ask if your startup can get venture capital, then it almost certainly can’t. Venture capital is a very rarified atmosphere of high-end startups and emerging businesses with experienced management teams, high potential growth, secret sauce, and so on. People without track records don’t get venture capital.

Software Review 124

Software Review Due Diligence Venture Capital Elevator Pitch 124

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

'Dave Kerpen, founder and CEO of Likeable Local , just published an interview with me on Linkedin, which I’ve included below. He’s the #1 LinkedIn Influencer of all time in page views, ahead of Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Mark Cuban, and President Barack Obama. Enter Dave: Angel investing is a great way to make a lot of money. It’s also a fast way to lose all your money.

Angel Investor 114

Angel Investor Technical Review Venture Capital Pre-Money Valuation 114

Gregg Fraley, Author of Jack's Notebook

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

'Many companies started 2014 with the good intention of “getting after innovation” this year. Was that your organization? How’s that going? Are you jumping for joy or singing the blues? Some companies have worked hard and consistently at innovation all this year. They started the year running and got things done. Look at the slew of announcements Apple just made (to be fair the watch took years ).

Lean 112

Lean Leadership Programming Management 112

SiliconHills

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

'By LAURA LOREK Founder of Silicon Hills News Americans have a problem counting calories which contributes to skyrocketing rates of obesity, said Brad Hughes, software engineer at National Instruments. He thought Intel’s Internet of Things Hackathon might be a good place to tackle the problem. He pitched the idea of a smart food scale connected […] The post MeasrFood, a Smart Food Scale, Wins Intel’s Internet of Things Roadshow in Austin appeared first on SiliconHills.

Internet 95

Internet Austin Software Engineering Engineer 95

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

'After the top notch article on migrating to Universal Analytics using Google Tag Manager , we got some feedback from you that some background on what tags and tag management are would be helpful. We heard you and we’re here to demystify site tags and how to keep them in order. What is a “Tag” Anyway? There are hundreds of services for tracking, advertising, site customization, and generally souping up your ability to measure, reach, and convert your visitors.

Management 106

Management Software Review eCommerce Analytics 106

crowdSPRING Blog

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

'Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account , I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

Social Media 94

Social Media Small Business Design Media 94

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

'To ensure your business’s success, remember that cash is king. Cash flow is king. It flows into your business from satisfied clients who pay your invoices, and it flows out as you pay employees, suppliers, and others who serve your business. And, if you play your cards right, some of that cash flows into your own pockets as a return on your investment in your business.

Software Review 120

Software Review Forecast .Net Cloud 120

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

'As the former CEO of a professional expert network , I’m a firm believer in the value of speedy access to relevant experts. I was excited to see that GLG (formerly Gerson Lehrman Group), the industry leader, is now offering a professional network service geared to the needs of the startup community: GLG Share. When you’re looking for investors, advisors, introductions, and insight, you can get that information by attending conferences and cocktail parties, and hoping randomly that you find som

New York 114

New York Technical Review Networking Advisory Board 114